Homecoming

by Heath Stallcup

  She laughed again, louder and longer than before. “Righteous indignation? I love it!” She hopped from her seat and slid next to him, straddling the parking brake. “Tell me, lover, what exactly were your plans once I was restored?”

  Damien ground his teeth together as he drove his eyes forward, as she whispered in his ear. “Exactly what you told me. Restore you so that you could rule once more. And I would be the king to your queen.” He turned and faced her. “That is what you told me, isn’t it?”

  She laughed again and pushed away from him, falling back into her seat. “There can be only one ruler, love.”

  “I have no desire to rule.” He slowed the truck once more and pulled it to the side of the road. “What’s going on with you? Why are you acting this way?”

  She laughed again and tried to wrap her legs around his chest as he stared at her. He grabbed her legs and pulled her from the running truck and out onto the wet grass beside the road. She quickly sobered as he dragged her from the truck and pinned her to the rear door. “Tell me!”

  With wide eyes she stared at him, horror etched across her features. She shook her head slightly as if waking from a drunken stupor. “I-I don’t know what came over me. I just…” She turned away and stared at the moon once more.

  “What’s gotten into you?” He released his grip on her, but still held her to the side of the truck. “Why are you behaving this way?”

  “I tried to warn you.” Her voice cracked as she spoke. “I was different before. The longer I’m around the pieces of my true self, the more I…”

  “The more you what?” She shook her head in defiance. He pushed her against the truck once more. “Tell me damn it!”

  She turned her reddened eyes to him and he saw the tears forming. “The more I lose who I am. Who I want to be.” She slowly slid from his grip and sat on the grass beside the truck.

  “What are you saying?”

  She lifted her head and gazed upon him. “I’m saying that the more I’m around my physical body, the more I become like I was. Cynical. Selfish. Hateful. Paranoid. Resentful. All of it.” She slowly pushed herself to a standing position and pointed to the pieces still wrapped in the old cloth in the back of the truck. “Just being this close to…those was enough to cause what you just witnessed. Imagine once I’m trapped in all of it.” He noticed her hands shaking as she spoke.

  Damien pulled her into his arms and held her. “Then what do we do? Do we continue?”

  “It was your dream, was it not?” she asked, her face buried in his chest.

  “It was your command when you first showed me the way,” he corrected. “Is there no way to maintain who you are once your body is complete?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know,” she choked. “I honestly don’t know.”

  8

  Matt finished putting away the paperwork that had accumulated on his desk and reached for the monthly acquisition reports. He scanned them briefly then paused. Something was amiss. He ran his finger back down the numerous pages and stopped at one line in particular and lifted the paper closer to his eyes.

  “What the hell is a JLTV-like vehicle?” He scanned across to the price and nearly fell out of his chair. “Sixty-seven thousand dollars?!” Matt marched to his door and pulled it open. Nearly storming down the hall, he pushed open Tufo’s door and was immediately assaulted by a smell that could only be described as chemical warfare.

  “Did you need something?”

  “How can you breathe in there?” Matt asked as he shielded his nose with his hand.

  Mark gave him a questioning look and shrugged. “I don’t smell nothing.”

  “Good heavens. You been feeding that dog road kill?” Hank growled from below Mark’s desk, and Matt scowled at the hairy beast.

  “Negative. Bulldogs have very sensitive tummies. You have to—”

  “I don’t give two shits about his tummy.” Matt shook the acquisition paper toward him. “I want to know what the hell a JLTV-like vehicle is?”

  Mark gave him a questioning look and shrugged. “No idea.”

  “So we didn’t buy a sixty-seven thousand dollar tank while I was in Belize?” Matt shook the paper again.

  Mark shrugged again. “We don’t have any tanks here, Matt. I don’t…oh!” He jumped up and stepped over by the door. He snatched the paper from Matt’s hand and scanned it. “Yeah, I know what this is.”

  Matt gave him an expectant look. “Care to elaborate?”

  Mark smiled and waved him on. “Follow me.”

  Matt pulled the door shut as Hank shot through and waddled after Tufo. Matt glared at the dog but fell into step behind his XO. “Where are we going?”

  “Topside. Wait ‘til you see this. It’s freakin’ incredible.” Mark held the elevator door for him and punched the button as soon as he stepped inside. Hank immediately fumigated the small area, claiming it as his own.

  The two men practically clawed their way out of the elevator when the door opened, gasping for air. The three of them went out into the fresh air of the parking lot, and Mark fished into his pocket, pulling out a set of keys. “I was going to surprise you when you got back but forgot.” He remembered his little side trip on behalf of Dr. Peters. “Sorry, but I got a bit distracted.” Hitting the button, a large 4X4 pickup flashed its lights and honked at him.

  “What the hell is that?”

  “I’m hoping we can replace the HUMVEES with these.” Mark smiled broadly as he handed Matt the keys.

  Matt approached the vehicle slowly and checked it out. “What is it?”

  “It’s a Raptor. An extremely high-powered, factory-made race truck with excellent ground clearance. This thing will hold more people, more gear, and go faster than the Hummers. Plus, it gets much better gas mileage, looks like the civilian version, and it already comes in black.” Mark was smiling as he opened the door and ushered Matt inside.

  “What the hell is that on the door?” Matt pulled the door from his hand and closed it so that he could see the Monster Squad’s unit emblem emblazoned on the door of the truck in the parking lot lights.

  “I took the liberty of customizing it a little,” Tufo stated proudly. “Go on, get in and check it out. This thing has GPS, surround sound, satellite radio, leather, shift on the fly four wheel drive and enough power to pull a house down.”

  Matt stepped up into the truck and shook his head. “You should have cleared this with me.”

  “You were gone. I was in charge. I made an executive decision. Besides, we can get one of these fully-loaded, and it’s cheaper than a base model Hummer. It’s a win-win. If we roll up in these, people won’t automatically assume we’re military.”

  “You don’t think the uniforms will give them away?” Matt deadpanned.

  “Our uniforms are black. Nobody else uses black uniforms,” Tufo shot back. “Well, except maybe ninjas.”

  “Send it back.” Matt started to slip out of the seat.

  “Can’t. This one is ours. If you don’t like it, I’ll drive it.” Tufo planted his hands on his hips.

  Matt frowned at him and shook his head. “We can’t keep something like this. Our budget is tightly controlled and—”

  “And I’ve already explained that we are saving money by switching to these. So…we don’t swap out the entire fleet all at once. But we have three Hummers that we need to rotate out. We should rotate back in with four of these. Each of the squads would have a ground machine that a Chinook could deliver for faster entry to a scene. They can pack a heck of a lot of gear and they’re nimble as hell.” He pushed the keys back into Matt’s hand. “Take it for a spin. Don’t think of it as a joy ride. Think of it as a comparison. Think of this as an honest-to-God replacement for our Hummers. You know, the ones we can’t really use in the field? Those vehicles. We can USE these.”

  Matt groaned and slipped back behind the wheel. He pushed the key into the ignition and twisted it, listening to the throaty roar of the 6.2 liter engine as it rumbled
to life. He felt the pure power of the beast under him as he revved the engine. He pulled the door shut and rolled the window down. “You say the black is a factory color, huh?”

  Mark shot him a devilish grin. “Take her down the road. Put her through some paces. Then come back and we can order three more of them.”

  “Pretty confident, don’tcha think?”

  “Drive it. You will be, too.”

  Matt shrugged and pulled the gear selector into drive. Mark had to shield himself from the thrown gravel Matt left as he pulled out of the parking lot. Mark watched him jump the curb and shoot off into the darkness. “Kids these days.” He marched back inside and grabbed another requisition form.

  *****

  A loud banging at the door shocked Laura from her near sleep state. She heard Marco push the chair back and throw the lock on the door. Jennifer’s voice echoed in the small room as she spoke. “Father has decided, cut her loose.”

  Marco hesitated for only a moment. “I should really hear this from your father, or at least from Sebastian.”

  The silence from Jennifer either meant that she capitulated or she was giving him a very stern look. His heavy sigh and approaching footsteps told Laura that it was the latter. He gently pulled the hood from her head and his hands were nimble as he untied her from the chair. She quickly rubbed feeling back into her hands as she stood. “Thank you.”

  Marco simply nodded as he escorted her from the dark room, Jennifer in tow. “I’ll take her from here.” Jennifer led her down a long hallway, opposite the direction that Marco had taken her earlier. “I’ll loan you some clothes, those are in rough shape. You look to be close to the same size.”

  Laura paused and gave the much shorter woman a cautious stare. “I’m a good foot taller than you.”

  Jennifer raised a brow and gave her a smirk. “Shorts and a top. Your legs would make my pants look…well, like clown clothes.”

  “I’m not sure if that was an insult or not.”

  Laura followed her to another room, and Jennifer handed her a small pile of clothing. Khaki shorts that would have come past the shorter woman’s knees fit Laura almost perfectly. The belt kept them snug. The shirt was a bit short both in the arms and torso. She rolled up the sleeves and tied the shorter tails of the shirt around her midriff.

  “This will have to work.” She turned to face Jennifer. “I don’t suppose you have any hiking shoes that might fit?”

  Jennifer shook her head. “My feet are much too small, and the men here all wear boats for shoes. You’ll have to make do with your boat shoes.”

  Laura eyed her captor for a moment then found the courage to ask. “So what’s going to be done with me?”

  “Father has some questions for you.” Jennifer turned from her and chewed her inner cheek. “I’m pretty sure I’ve convinced him to let you live.”

  “Pretty sure?”

  She shrugged. “Who can tell? He’s still pretty upset.”

  Laura could understand. If it had been her child held for ten years, she’d be upset, too. “So what about after the questions?”

  Jennifer ignored her. “Tell me of the man who came here. The one who…” she trailed off, remembering what Laura had told her of his family.

  “What of him?”

  “Who is he to you?” She finally met her gaze and Laura could see the pain behind Jennifer’s eyes.

  “He’s just my boss,” she answered softly. “Actually, that isn’t true. He’s my friend as well. A lot like a father in many ways.”

  “Go on.” Jennifer sat on the cot and urged Laura to sit but she continued to stand. Having been stuck in the chair for so long, her butt was still sore.

  “He’s the one who sent me here to find you, to try and explain to you…well, to apologize to you for…” Laura sighed and took the seat that Jennifer offered. She spun the chair around and sat in it backwards. “He’s your Fated Mate.”

  Jennifer gasped, and she leaned back, away from Laura. “That cannot be.”

  “It is. Other wolves explained to him the ‘how’. We just can’t figure out the ‘why’.”

  “The Fates wouldn’t be so cruel.” Jennifer pulled her legs up and squeezed her knees to her chest. “I created him. He can’t be my…”

  Laura reached out and patted the girl’s arm. “I’m sorry. This is tough for him, too.”

  “Is that why he sent you?” her voice cracked as she spoke.

  Laura shook her head. “No.” She took a deep breath. “I mean, not really. He wishes he could just talk with you. Try to explain what happened. You were so frightened when you two…” Laura looked away. “He wouldn’t have hurt you. Not again. Never again.”

  Jennifer sniffed back a tear and shook her head. “This shouldn’t be possible. A natural born wolf and a created wolf can’t be mated. It’s not…right.”

  “Well, sweetie, right or not, the first time you shifted…” Laura swallowed hard and prayed that Jennifer didn’t flip out on her, “…when you were cornered? When he shot you? You shifted to a timber wolf. You and he were the only two wolves around. Then when you thawed and you two met again, you shifted into the timber wolf a second time.”

  Jennifer hid her eyes as she cried. Laura simply didn’t know what to do. She reached out to her and stroked her arm. “I’m so sorry.”

  “No, you don’t understand.” She lifted her head and wiped away the tears. “Part of me is relieved that I’ve found my mate. But the biggest part of me is sickened at what I did during the moon…what I did when I created him. What I did to his family.”

  “Shh, it’s okay. I understand,” Laura soothed.

  “Do you?” Jennifer asked as she wiped at her eyes again. “Can you? Do you have any idea just how silly that sounds?”

  “I just meant, that I…”

  “No, you can’t understand.” She stood up from the cot and paced quickly, trying to work herself into a frenzy. “You have no idea how I must feel. You’ve never lived as a wolf. You have no idea what it’s like to wait forever for your mate and then find out that he’s the guy who shot you in the face!” Her voice began to rise as her rant continued. Laura glanced around the room to see if there was anything she could use as a weapon. Surely others would come kicking the door in at any moment. “You have no idea what it’s like to know that your mate must hate every fiber of your being because you stole his family from him. You can’t possibly know what…”

  “I’m in love with a vampire!” Laura exclaimed. She had no idea why she shouted it, or what meaning it might have, but it caught Jennifer off guard and at least, for the moment her rant paused.

  “You’re…what?”

  Laura shrugged. “I’m in love with a vampire.” She gave Jennifer a sheepish smile. “I know that has little to no bearing on the conversation, but…”

  “But what?” Jennifer gave her a puzzled stare.

  “Well, you have to admit, loving the undead does come with its own set of unique problems.”

  “What does that have to do with anything?” she yelled.

  “Well, it just goes to show that everybody has their own issues when it comes to matters of the heart.” Laura’s mind went into overdrive trying to think of anything that she could include that would correlate with Jennifer’s situation. “I mean, here you are, mated to a wolf you don’t even know that you think hates you, but really, he’s all torn up inside because he misses you. And me? Well, I’m in love with a guy that I can’t…well, I can’t go outside with unless it’s night. And…I mean, you two aren’t really mated yet, right? I mean, you have to actually…yeah. But me? I can’t have kids with my vampire boyfriend. And we really would like to have kids someday. And…” she looked at Jennifer and shrugged. “I’m sorry. I really suck at this.”

  Jennifer fell back onto the cot and nodded. “Yeah, you do.”

  Laura patted her leg. “Look, Jen, I can’t tell you what to feel or how you should feel. I can only tell you that he’s not been the same since you left. He
’s not one for words, but I can tell, he’s really hurting inside. He really hoped that he could reach you before you left.”

  She sniffed back another tear and leaned against the wall. “I guess I didn’t really give him a chance to say much.”

  “You mean before you kicked his ass?” Laura smiled at her. “Which is totally cool in my book by the way.”

  Jennifer allowed herself to smile again. “But he’s okay?”

  “You saw him. Did he look broken?”

  “I’ve spent so long fearing him,” she whispered. “Now that I know, I…”

  Laura nodded and pulled the girl into a hug. “I understand.”

  “What do I do?”

  Laura shrugged. “You can keep hiding and wondering or you can arrange to meet him.”

  Jennifer stiffened fear running through to her very core. “I don’t think I could do that.”

  “Meet him on neutral ground.” Laura soothed. “We have friends in Brazil. That’s not far. He could come there, and he would be at ease. You could meet him close by and,” Laura pulled back and turned the girl to face her. “If you want, I’ll be there with you.”

  “Why would you do that? We kidnapped you.”

  Laura shrugged. “You’re my friend’s Fated Mate. I have a feeling that, in time, you’ll be my friend as well.”

  Jennifer slowly shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  “What do you have to lose?”

  Jennifer shrugged. “Another ten years?”

  *****

  “I really wish you would learn to control your outbursts. You are beginning to remind me of Paul when he was younger.” Rufus poured a glass of cognac and slipped into the chair across from Jack in his ‘office’ in the library.

  Jack turned an angry glare to his benefactor. “Really? You’re comparing me to him?”

  “Oui, many years ago he had difficulty curbing his tongue as well.”

  Jack stood and stretched his neck. “I can’t say what he was like ‘many years ago’. But I can tell you one major difference between him and me.”